Todd Cardin Fights for The Musical

Todd Cardin focuses on the lost art of the Broadway musical.

(PRWEB) October 2, 2006 -- Todd Cardin is bringing back the musical. The musical is a lost art in american theater which is flooded with revivals and remakes of movies. Todd Cardin has been writing contemporary, originqal musicals. The three main components of a musical are the music, the lyrics, and the book. The book of a musical refers to the spoken and not sung lines in the show; however, "book" can also refer to the dialogue and lyrics together, which are sometimes referred to as the libretto The music and lyrics together form the score of the musical. Other components are the direction, choreography, and technical aspects, such as set, costumes, stage properties, lighting, etc., that generally change from production to production.

A musical can be anywhere from a short one-act entertainment to several hours long; however, most musicals range from one and a half hours to 3 hours. Musicals today are typically presented in two acts, with one intermission fifteen to twenty minutes in length. The first act is almost always somewhat longer than the second act. A musical usually includes at least 4-6 main theme tunes that are reprised throughout the show. Dialogue is generally interspersed between musical numbers. Some musicals, however, are "sung-through" and do not have any spoken dialogue.

Musical theatre is closely related to another theatrical performance art, opera. These forms are usually distinguished by weighing a number of factors. Musicals generally have a greater focus on spoken dialogue on dancing on the use of popular music of various forms and on the avoidance of many operatic conventions. Amplification of the singers is usually approved of in larger theatres where musicals are played, while it is generally disapproved of in opera houses.

In practice, it is often difficult to distinguish among the various kinds of musical theatre, including the so called "musical comedy", "operetta", "comic opera", "light opera", "musical play", "burlesque" and even "revue". Some works have received both "musical theatre" and "operatic" treatment. Similarly, some older operettas or light operas have had modern productions that treated them as musicals. Sondheim said, "I really think that when something plays Broadway it's a musical, and when it plays in an opera house it's opera. That's it. It's the terrain, the countryside, the expectations of the audience that make it one thing or another." This article concentrates on musical theatre works that are not generally regarded as "operas", although there is some overlap between lighter operatic forms and the more musically complex musicals.

A musical's moments of greatest dramatic intensity are often performed in song. Proverbially, "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance." A song must be crafted to suit the character, or characters and their situation within the story. A show usually opens with a song that sets the tone of the musical, introduces some or all of the major characters, and shows the setting of the play. Within the compressed nature of the musical, the writers must develop the characters and the plot. Music provides a means to express emotion. However, typically, many fewer words are sung in a five-minute song than are spoken in a five-minute block of dialogue. Therefore there is less time to develop drama than in a straight play of equivalent length, since a musical usually devotes more time to music than to dialogue.

Many familiar musical theatre works have been the basis for popular musical films, such as The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady or were adapted or even written for television presentations .Recently, some popular television programs have set an episode in the style of a musical. There has also been a recent revival of the movie musical, such as Chicago, and the appearance of popular animated film musicals. Also, India produces numerous musical films, referred to as "Bollywood" musicals, and Japan produces a considerable number of Anime musicals.

Todd Cardin has written several musicals, including the broadway bound "Amish Chicks".

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